At first, the young woman testified, her former baby sitter "was fun to be around."

The man, Barry Lee Rhodes, would buy her clothes and coordinate games, she told a local jury Wednesday.

But shopping and puzzles soon turned to sexual abuse — and eventually, rape — the young woman said.

"I'm trying to forget everything," she said on the witness stand. "But you can't really forget about it."

Rhodes, now 61, is on trial accused of 25 sex crimes, including rape of a child. Prosecutors allege Rhodes assaulted two sisters between 1999 and 2001.

One girl was unable to testify when charges originally were filed in 2001, so they were dropped — until being re-filed last year.

The young woman who testified Wednesday said she was assaulted almost every time Rhodes would baby-sit. She said her older sister, who has a mental disability, also was assaulted.

In an opening statement, defense lawyer Christopher Basner suggested the victims' allegations were skewed because so much time has passed.

Assistant District Attorney Daniel Dye, during 45 minutes of direct examination, led the young woman through a series of alleged abuses.

The victim, now 20, expressed emotion — breaking down in tears — only when she described the rape.

"I could usually fight him to get away," she said. "It was very painful."

Rhodes, also charged in Mifflin County with sexual assault of a child, faces a life sentence if convicted of the Lancaster charges.

Rhodes jotted notes and whispered to his attorney during testimony.

Several jurors gave him a long look when they first entered the courtroom.

The witness only looked his way when Dye asked who had assaulted her.

She said her parents both worked multiple jobs, so having a baby sitter was common in the home.

Rhodes typically baby-sat once or twice a week, she testified.

Initially, the inappropriate contact was only touching on top of clothes, she said. It progressed to under the clothes, and, eventually, penetration, she said.

Dye asked why she didn't report the incidents until after the alleged rape in 2001.

"At first, I didn't really know what it was," she said, explaining that she was only 7 when the abuse started. "I thought nobody would believe me. ... I don't really know."

In cross-examination, Basner pointed out some differences between the young woman's testimony Wednesday and at a preliminary hearing last year.

He also asked how the girl knew her sister was being sexually assaulted.

"I knew the difference between boys and girls," she snapped back.

The abuse had devastating effects, the witness and Dye told the jurors.

"I'll think about it and I'll have a breakdown," she said. "He used to smoke, and (when I) smell that smell, it would just bring me back to that time."

"Though time has passed," Dye said in openings, "the defendant cannot escape his lies and misdeeds."

Testimony continues today before County Judge Dennis E. Reinaker.

bhambright@lnpnews.com